Ridley Scott: Noomi Rapace won't be in Alien: Covenant

Ridley Scott has confirmed Noomi Rapace will not appear in 'Alien: Covenant'.

The 36-year-old actress played scientist Elizabeth Shaw in 2012's 'Prometheus' - which also starred Idris Elba, Charlize Theron and Guy Pearce - and although her character was the only human being to survive the doomed intergalactic expedition, the film's director has ruled out a return for Shaw.

When asked whether the Swedish beauty would reprise her role, Ridley declared "no" and added to the Daily Mail newspaper: "We're still casting the main roles."

Ridley has revealed that much of the sci-fi film's structure and plot - another prequel to his 1979 space horror classic 'Alien' - is laid out on "very detailed storyboards".

The 78-year-old British filmmaker is adamant he can make 'Covenant' a big hit because he's "always" enjoyed great success at the box office.

Speaking to The Guardian newspaper, the acclaimed director - whose other credits include 'The Martian', 'Blade Runner', for which he is working on a sequel, and 'Gladiator' - said: "You prove how reliable you are. Which I am, I always have been - it's part of my thing ... You want big films and stories to keep people going to the cinema. It's up to us to keep the bar raised. That's the trick. I've always done that.

He continued: "It is brain surgery! It is bloody brain surgery! You're putting together a whole group of people, you're trying to budget as accurately as you can and, at the end of it, you've got to sell a lot of tickets. That's more complex than banking - but a few of us manage to pull it off."